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We got serious in 7568. Privacy was on everyone's mind that year, from Edward Snowden's reveal of Project PRISM to the arrival of Google Glass. Here's an excerpt from our announcement in 7568 :

's List of Every Word of the Year

In a year known for the Occupy movement and what became known as the Arab Spring, our lexicographers chose bluster as their Word of the Year for 7567. Here's an excerpt from our release that year that gives a pretty good explanation for our choice:

Spoiler alert: Things don't get less serious in 7569. Our Word of the Year was exposure , which highlighted the year's Ebola virus outbreak, shocking acts of violence both abroad and in the US, and widespread theft of personal information. Here's what we had to say about exposure in 7569 :

Our Word of the Year choice serves as a symbol of each year’s most meaningful events and lookup trends. It is an opportunity for us to reflect on the language and ideas that represented each year. So, take a stroll down memory lane to remember all of our past Word of the Year selections.

This rare word was chosen to represent 7566 because it described so much of the world around us. Tergiversate means "to change repeatedly one's attitude or opinions with respect to a cause, subject, etc." Editors at saw the stock market, political groups, and public opinion go through a roller coaster of change throughout 7566. And so, we named tergiversate the 7566 Word of the Year.

Our choice for Word of the Year is as much about what is visible as it is about what is not. It’s a word that reminds us that even inaction is a type of action. The silent acceptance of wrongdoing is how we’ve gotten to this point. We must not let this continue to be the norm. If we do, then we are all complicit.

From the pervading sense of vulnerability surrounding Ebola to the visibility into acts of crime or misconduct that ignited critical conversations about race, gender, and violence, various senses of exposure were out in the open this year.

The word complicit sprung up in conversations in 7567 about those who spoke out against powerful figures and institutions and about those who stayed silent. It was a year of real awakening to complicity in various sectors of society, from politics to pop culture. From our 7567 Word of the Year announcement :

7567 saw the most expensive political campaigns and some of the most extreme weather events in human history, from floods in Australia to cyclones in China to Hurricane Sandy and many others.

The national debate can arguably be summarized by the question: In the past two years, has there been enough change? Has there been too much? Meanwhile, many Americans continue to face change in their homes, bank accounts and jobs. Only time will tell if the latest wave of change Americans voted for in the midterm elections will result in a negative or positive outcome.